Renya's Retaliation Begins
Karasuma Renya stood alone in his private study.
The lights were dim.
The air heavy.
Slowly, he lifted the glass phone Keith had given him.
No buttons.
No seams.
Only a transparent surface that awakened at his touch.
"…Show me," Renya said quietly.
The device responded instantly.
Data flowed—not as screens, but as projected layers of reality.
Renya searched one name.
Ethan Hondou.
What the Glass Revealed
The phone didn't give him what the CIA had released.
It gave him truth.
• Mission logs altered post-mortem
• Surveillance gaps that shouldn't exist
• Agents operating under CIA clearance—but answering to no CIA chain of command
Then—
A symbol appeared.
A stylized beast.
Hidden inside financial transfers and kill orders.
Renya's pupils shrank.
"…Zoo."
Not the surface organization.
The real Zoo—the one that fed on intelligence agencies themselves.
So Ethan's "death" wasn't collateral.
It was silencing.
Renya's grip tightened.
"They dared…"
The glass phone shifted again, responding to Renya's fury.
Cross-referencing Zoo-linked operatives…
Active targets identified.
Renya smiled.
A smile that meant extinction.
"Begin erasure," he whispered.
Elsewhere — A Man Who Should Be Dead
Ethan woke slowly.
No restraints.
No hospital smell.
Just silence—and safety.
"…Still breathing," he muttered.
Then he saw Keith.
Relief flooded him instantly.
"…You saved me."
Keith nodded.
"I told you. I don't let useful people die."
Ethan sat up with effort.
"They made it look like line of duty," he said.
"CIA operatives, but not ours. Different handlers. Different funding."
Keith's eyes darkened.
"Zoo," he said calmly.
Ethan froze.
"You already knew."
Keith turned and placed something on the table.
A mask.
Perfect.
Lifelike.
Not a disguise—a replacement face.
"Ethan Hondou died in that explosion," Keith said.
"The world believes it. Your enemies will believe it."
Ethan stared at the mask.
"…Then who am I?"
Keith smiled faintly.
"Ethan Hunt."
"Retired private mercenary. Officially resigned. No country. No leash."
He pushed a document across the table.
Employment Contract — Runcandel Group
Ethan exhaled slowly, then nodded.
"…Understood."
A Promise Remembered
As Ethan stood, he hesitated.
"You once told me… eight or nine years from now…"
Keith cut him off gently.
"…That I would erase the Black Organization."
"And make sure those loyal to my great-grandfather live well."
Ethan laughed quietly.
"Looks like you're ahead of schedule."
Keith's eyes were sharp, unyielding.
"This was always the schedule."
A Father's New Duty
Keith turned, then added calmly:
"You have another assignment."
Ethan straightened instantly.
"Name it."
"Mizunashi Rena."
The name alone made Ethan's breath hitch.
"…Hidemi."
Keith met his gaze.
"You will be her bodyguard."
"From the shadows. From the world. From everything hunting her."
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He bowed deeply.
"I accept."
Not as an agent.
Not as a soldier.
But as a father.
Two Wars Begin Quietly
That night—
• Karasuma Renya unleashed silent annihilation on Zoo-linked assets
• Keith buried Ethan Hondou and resurrected Ethan Hunt
• The Black Organization mourned a loss
• And an unseen enemy realized too late—
They hadn't killed a man.
They had activated something far worse.